​With these words, Robbie De Guia, president of Dunsk Kuhner, the company behind St. Roche dog shampoo, ushered groups of pet lovers to the 1,400sqm property in Silang, Cavite that will be the site of Haven of Love, a home for abused and neglected animals.

The recent gathering marked St. Roche's groundbreaking ceremony for the planned animal home. Company executives emphasized that an animal home is more than an animal shelter because it will also provide loving care on top of food and shelter for animals and education for people.

“Animals deserve a shelter not a home. In our culture, dogs are reincarnated as humans so we would like to treat them as humanely as possible. Let's keep this a beautiful place for dogs, said top company executive, Raja Menghrajani.

St. Roche top executives Raja and Robbie during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Haven of Love in Silang, Cavite.

​Volunteerism will be at the core of this endeavor which targets to have a soft start before the year ends. De Guia said they aim to spend only for the building materials and a construction foreman's salary. Labor will be a collective effort of volunteers.

Guests tour the 1,400sqm property that will be an animal haven soon.

HAVEN OF LOVEDuring the ceremony, St. Roche officials took turn touring guests to the vast property where facilities and buildings will be built.

The Haven of Love is envisioned to have the following:* A building with conference rooms for the use of veterinarians and pet groups, a clinic, and food storage.* The Home (at least 7meter x 7meter), partly covered by football turf so it will be parasite free.* Sleeping quarters made up of five houses, each able to room from six to eight people. Each house will be about 30sqm.* A 400sqm Pet Cemetery with an incinerator machine. A memorial plot will be for sale.* A Vegetable Farm to grow squash, okra, fruit-bearing trees, sweet potato, eggplant and other vegetables that can be used to feed cats and dogs.* A Cat Area that is 150sqm big at least. It will be an enclosed area with good ventilation for the benefit of 200 cats.* A Fish Farm that is 100sqm big, good enough for tilapia, catfish and other kinds of fish to thrive. Volunteers will be allowed to fish for their meals.* A Dog Pool about 30 to 40 feet for dogs' enjoyment and exercise.* A Dog Quarantine with about 50sqm floor space.

Pet lovers congregate in front of the "Wall of Love" to write dedications to their pets that already crossed the rainbow bridge.

​There will be five of the “Home” structures with ceiling fans and comfy dog beds and pillows from Daki. The interiors will be painted blue and green as these colors have a calming effect on dogs, especially those that have been traumatized in the past. De Guia said each Home can keep 30 to 40 dogs.

Robbie De Guia of St. Roche pointing out to guests the different features of the Haven of Love.

So far, 1,300 individuals have expressed their interest to donate their time and skills to help build the Haven of Love animal home. Even homeless people who can be proven to be of good character and are animal lovers could potentially be tapped to help out at the shelter.

The St. Roche Love Pack, 75% of the sales will go to the Haven of Love.

​De Guia said, volunteers can earn “love tokens” commensurate to the services they render. The love tokens can be used to avail of the free use of facilities like the conference room for team building.

The Haven of Love is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a foundation with a seven-man Board of Trustees.

Top company executives Raja and Robbie spearheaded the groundbreaking ceremony.

​Aside from enlisting more volunteers to help build the shelter, St. Roche is also getting creative with its fund raising campaigns. It is selling for P2,000 the St. Roche Love Pack, a basket full of St. Roche products, with 75 percent of the sales going to the shelter. They also created a “Wall of Love” at the site where people could write a dedication to their former pets for a small fee of P100.

In addition, the company will launch a personalized logo of St. Roche with a customer's pet's photo for P1,000.

Groups of animal lovers, veterinarians and St. Roche officials gather for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Haven of Love.

Meanwhile, the dogs that will be homed in Silang will enjoy food and treats from a Canadian dog food manufacturer. De Guia said they target to open Haven of Love early next year or before the year ends.

Present during the groundbreaking ceremony are several dog groups (photos below) such as the Cavite Husky Pack, Tarlac Dog Walkers, Mandaluyong Pack Leaders, Philippine Dog Pawsitive, UPLB-Veterinary students, United ShihTzu Lovers Philippines, Bulacan Dog Walkers, Noah's Ark Petlovers Society, Canine Lovers Association of Pampanga, Boston Terriers Tribe, and the Valenzuela South Alpha Dogs, and others. Also present are several individuals who are not necessarily part of any dog group or association.